Powers
Powers are highly customizable abilities that characters use to perform extraordinary feats. Some enemies have powers of their own, which tend to be fixed. Fixed as well are the Class abilities that each Hero receives. Each Hero can assemble their own powers, spending Power Points to buy features and effects that can be combined however the Hero chooses. Once combined, the power is added to the Hero's repertoire--the list of powers they can use during a scene. When a power is used, it is spent for that scene, becoming inaccessible. Spent powers are recovered instantly at the end of a scene. Players may freely reallocate their Heroes' powers any time that the Hero has access to a short rest, essentially five minutes or so of downtime. Powers are one of the things that a player may use to create a truly unique character, and the look and feel of that power is entirely up to them. A hero of time might have some sort of time travel device, he might be a wizard, he might even be a psychic ninja who cuts time portals through the fabric of reality with a sword. When building powers, try to think about just how your character would look using them. Any time a character uses a power that would affect an area containing both allies and enemies, he may choose to exclude either group from the effect. Neutral characters are generally considered allies for these purposes, though that distinction is up to the user. Features Features are the who what, where, and when of a power. 'Range' 0 (Self only): Free Melee: Free Weapon's Range: 1 Point 10 Yards: 2 Point 20 Yards: 3 Points 40 Yards: 5 Points Visual: 10 Points Range is the distance at which a power can be targeted. 'Area' Self: Free Single Target or Space: Free 2 Yard Radius: 3 Points 5 Yard Radius: 5 Points 10 Yard Radius: 15 Points Area is the actual "blast radius" of the power--only targets within the area are actually effected. For instance, a power with a two yard radius and a 20 yard range could be cast up to twenty yards from the user, and would have a two yard impact radius wherever in that 20 yard range the user put it. If any part of the area extends beyond the range, the power still affects any targets the area covers, but the center of the area can be placed no further than the edge of the range. 'Duration' Immediate: '''Free '''Up to 4 rounds: '''1 Point/round '''Scene: 5 Points Not all effects have a Duration, so most are left at "Immediate." Those that do usually have some associated buff, debuff, or summoning effect that lasts until the end of the user's turn on the round the duration would expire. 'Casting Time' 1 round: '''Free '''Full Action: '''1 point '''Standard Action: 2 points Move Action: 4 Points Quick Action: '''8 Points '''Interrupt: 10 points Casting time governs how long it takes to actually fire off a power. A character who is in the process of casting a power, but has not yet begun it, may freely stop at any time. Effects If features are the bones of a power, effects are the meat. Not all effects work with all feature configurations, and some effects don't make much sense when paired on the same Power, so make sure both you and your GM understand how the power you design is intended to work. To use an effect, a Hero needs to meet the level requirement, and he needs to have access to one of the Aspects tagged in the beginning of the ability description. When creating Powers, the effects resolve at the end of the casting time, in the order that they are listed on the Power entry, meaning that a player may choose exactly how a power comes together. Keep in mind though that some combinations may have unexpected results, such as Push and Attack--pushing a target away and then attacking it with a melee weapon would result in the character attacking the empty air his target once occupied. No two powers in a character's repertoire may include the same effect, and no power may have two of the same effect. Attack 2 points Contest: None Make a single standard attack against one target in the power's area. Push 1-5 points Contest: Mangrit vs Mangrit If the user wins the contest, they push the target a number of yards equal to the number of points spent on this effect. Pierce 1 point Contest: Spirit vs Spirit As an affliction, the target takes -1 to DV. Dazzle 1 point Contest: Cool vs Cool The target is dazed on their next turn. Feint 1 point Contest: Brains vs Brains As an affliction, the target gains a -1 penalty to AT and MA. Again! Level 3 3 points Unspend one spent power in your repertoire. Again and Again! Level 6 5 points Unspend 2 spent powers in your repertoire. Again and again and again! Level 12 6 points Roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-5, you may choose that many spent powers (excluding this one) to unspend. On a 6, this effect does nothing. Building a Power Characters can reallocate their powers any time they're out of combat and have a few short moments to rest. Each character has a pool of points determined by their level (and in some cases, their equipment or other effects). To build a power, they spend these points on Features and Effects, pulling the latter from Universal Effects, their class, and in some cases, other effects. A power must have one and only one of each kind of feature. Once a power has a range, area, duration, and casting time, it needs one or more effects. There is no cap on how many points a player may spend on a power, nor on how many effects they may load it with. Each effect attached to a power resolves separately in the order they're arranged when the power is created. Any effect that refers to "the target" automatically hits whatever targets in the area of effect that make sense for the power. Allies are never targeted by harmful effects, nor enemies by beneficial ones, unless the player specifically chooses to have them do so. If an effect's text specifies that the user can only target themselves with it, then they will automatically do so regardless of whether they're in the area of effect or not. However, other beneficial abilities will not target the user unless they're in the area of effect. An effect that specifies a single target similarly requires that such a target actually be in the area of effect, and will not affect multiple targets even if they share that area. Once the power has its features and effects, all it needs is a name and a description of how it works. Try to be creative without being too silly for even this game. Sample Powers Corner Pocket 'Diamonds Droog rushes over to an enemy in range and jabs them with his pool cue hard enough to send them flying!' Casting Time: Standard Action Range: 10 Yards Area: Single Target or Space Duration: Immediate Attack Contest: None Make a single standard attack against one target in the power's area. Push 5 Contest: Mangrit vs Mangrit If the user wins the contest, they push the target five yards. In this Example, DD has spent 10 points on a single power. On his turn, he spends a standard action to use this power on Eggs, who is standing six yards away. Even though DD is wielding a melee weapon, this power enables him to make a melee attack at range. In this instance, we handwave it by saying that DD is simply dashing over to Eggs, whacking him, and then dashing back to where he was, lightning-quick. Other explanations could involve throwing your weapon like a boomerang, or even something more fantastic, such as firing some sort of energy blast out of the weapon. Screaming Strike 'John wallops an enemy with his hammer and a blast of freezing wind leaves his foes shaken.' Casting Time: Quick Action Range: Visual Area: 2 Yard Radius Duration: Immediate Attack Contest: None Make a single standard attack against one target in the power's area. Howl Contest: Mangrit vs Mangrit Breath The target is battered by swirling winds, and must test daring with a +4 bonus or be frightened. In this example, John can affect anything he can see (even through a computer screen!) with his wind power. He sees Rose having trouble with a few basilisks, so he attempts to help her out. Unfortunately, he can't use a standard attack on anything outside of his current move radius+weapon range, but he can activate the power anyway and call a fierce windstorm in Rose's area to try to help her out. Since he can't make the physical attack, that part of the power is ignored. After it's been used, the power is spent as normal.